𝒳

"Did, you just talk!?" Ash rose to his feet, barely believing his own words let alone his ears. Yet, it was true. Right there before him, Latias just spoke!

"I did? Oh yes, I did!" Latias, somehow also surprised, stumbled over her words as she stumbled to full height. "I— Uh— Surprise!?"

With a nervous smile, Latias threw up her palms and shook her hands, as if she were saying ta-dah. Appropriate, considering Ash really was surprised.

"That's, amazing! How did you learn to use telepathy!" Ash stepped forward, his mind racing with a dozen thoughts at once. Beyond the fact that his friend was talking, his attention was pulled to so much more as well. Almost immediately, he noticed that Latias had grown over the last few years. She was closer to the size of a Latios now, than the Latias he remembered.

"I've been practicing! Lots and lots and lots of practicing. Took me a whole year just to figure out how to go 'Aaaaaaa!' in someone's head—" She paused to demonstrate, making Ash wince and laugh. "—After that, the rest was pretty easy!"

It was funny actually, where Latias hadn't said a word all those years ago, now it seemed she couldn't stop talking.

"That being said, idioms and articles were pretty hard to grasp— And don't get me started on verb tenses— But I knew if I ever wanted to talk to you, then I needed to practice until I got it juuuust right and—" Her eyes widened. "Have I said too much? I feel like I've said too—"

"You learned how to speak because you wanted to be able to talk to me?" In an instant, Latias's mile-a-minute rambling went dead silent. She had, in fact, said too much. "That's amazing, Latias! I'm honored!"

A tense breath left Latias's lungs.

"How about you then? What brings you back to Alto Mare?" Seemingly eager to move on, Latias pushed the conversation back to Ash, who laughed and scratched his cheek.

"It's a bit of a long story," he explained, eyes trailing off to the side for a moment, before he looked at Latias dead on. "To make a long story short— I needed some time away from where I was, so me and Pikachu decided to pay you guys a visit!"

His words brought another smile to Latias's face— a softer, gentler smile.

"I'm really, really happy to hear that." With a quick shake of her head, Latias began to orbit around Ash. The sound of her voice shifted as she began to speak again. "We can have so much fun while you're here! We can play games and have yummy snacks and I can show you all the places we never got to see and—"

—On and on Latias went, her speed increasing with each suggestion and scenario she came up with. All the while, all Ash could do was laugh while a miniature tornado began to form around him.

"That all sounds great, Latias! I'll tell you what, lemme grab Pikachu and—" When Ash came to a sudden pause, so did Latias, as she halted herself and dispersed her swirling winds all at once. Ash's eyes were trained on the moon, peaking through the foliage of the trees above them. "Right, it's past midnight."

"Oh, yeah." A distinct tone of disappointment tinged Latias's voice, something Ash noticed as she floated back. "I got a bit carried away there, huh?"

"Nah, we both did," Ash dismissed, waving away her claim as he closed the distance once more. "Tell you what though. We'll have tons of fun tomorrow! Sound like a plan?"

Coming to a gentle stop, Latias smiled, a calm look in her eyes as she drifted forward, towards Ash.

"That sounds amazing."

𝒵

The quiet noises of the early morning filtered through Bianca's ears, pawing at her attention as she tried to focus.

At her back, a pot of water was slowly beginning to steam— At her left, the patter of light footsteps could be heard— And in her very hand, a chunk of charcoal scratched against paper, ringing out with each stroke and line.

All of that, however, was nothing compared to the sound that swept it all away, every few moments, without end: The sound of the two knuckleheads snoring on her couch.

Bianca sighed and looked up from her latest piece, finding the sight that matched the distracting noise. There, in her living room was Ash and Pikachu, sleeping in a messy pile together. The former of the two had returned late the night before.

Leaning back in her seat, Bianca stretched, before stealing a glance at a note pinned up on the fridge. It'd been there since she woke up.

Consider sticking around this morning.

I don't think you'll want to miss this.

- Lorenzo

" ...Miss what? Ash sleeping on our couch?" Bristling, Bianca faced the boys again, her mind dwelling on the meaning of the message. What was her grandfather talking about?

She'd get her answer sooner than she expected.

"Aaaaaaash!" All at once, the front door of Bianca's home was slammed open, a torrent of wind sending the room into instant chaos. Ash and Pikachu flew straight off the couch in a panic— Bianca screamed as her papers went flying— And underlying it all was the distinct sound of laughter. "Good morning!"

"Latias!? What're you—?" Bianca blinked as her friend suddenly appeared, her invisibility dropping as she latched onto Ash. Still in the throes of waking up, Ash and Pikachu could only exclaim incoherently as their captor squeed.

"Hi Bianca—! Taking Ash now—! Don't know when we'll be back—! Don't wait up—! Okay byyyyye!" As soon as her run-on sentence came to an end, Latias jetted back out the front door, pausing for only a moment to grin manically and wave back at Bianca. With that, she and the boys were off, leaving an utter mess of a kitchen and living room in their wake.

Sitting in the middle of it all, Bianca could only just stare and blink. There were a few emotions she had brewing in her mind— Annoyance, exhaustion, confusion. First and foremost, however, was a surprising feeling, for herself especially: Elation.

"Latias hasn't been that excited in years," she mumbled, before rising to her feet. "That's, amazing! It's like—"

Furrowing her brow, Bianca shook her head before looking down.

"It's like, old times again."

𝒳

"New day, new day! It's a new daaaaaay!"

Ash furiously blinked, trying to focus his bleary eyes on whatever was in front of him. He knew he was awake and— that was about it.

"Pikapi?! Pikachu-pi!"

Oh that, he knew what Pikachu sounded like when he was distressed.

"What— Whoa!" Finally getting his bearings, Ash quickly realized what he'd been looking at all this time: It was Alto Mare, zipping around at high speeds down below. He could feel Pikachu holding on for dear life on his shoulder and a set of arms wrapped around his chest. With that, what was happening finally clicked. "Latias!? What's going on!?"

"It's a new day! You said we'd have a ton of fun tomorrow, and it's tomorrow!" The sheer ecstatic joy in her voice nearly made Ash laugh, before she made him scream.

"Up you go!" With a sharp turn, Latias threw Ash and Pikachu into the air, sending them tumbling for just a moment before she zipped in for the catch. With precision that seemed almost trained, she had the two land perfectly upon her back— Dazed and confused, but fully awake. "Good morning!"

Shaking his head clear, Ash opened his mouth, before pausing and doubling over to laugh instead. He pressed his forehead against Latias for just a moment before sitting straight.

"Woooo! Talk about a wake up! Huh, buddy?" Ash's blood was racing, his fingers tingling with excitement. He could get used to mornings like this.

"Kachu, chu..." Pikachu, meanwhile, was a different story.

"So-so-so. What do you want to do? Where do you want to go!" Taking a sharp turn, Latias began to fly circles around Alto Mare, her gaze flashing from one section of the city to another. Ash gave the question a moment of thought, before his stomach answered for him.

"Breakfast would be great. I'm starving! What's good to eat around here?"

"Oh, oh, oh! I know a great place that's super close!" Right as Latias reached the end of Alto Mare, she took a sharp turn and jetted off for its center. "They have the best ice cream in the city!"

"Ice cream? For breakfast?" His tone was incredulous, and Pikachu seemed to agree as he crossed his arms.

"Pika, Pikach—" At the end of the day, though, Ash was as persuadable as he was hungry.

"That's a great idea!"

"Pikapi!?"

"Yay!" Just like that, the rollercoaster was on once again. Latias swooped down, sending Ash and Pikachu reeling as they held on for dear life. After ten seconds of intense descent, the trio found themselves back on ground level, landing in a tight alley devoid of any prying eyes.

"Right, just gotta, get used to that." Ash stumbled onto the ground, taking a few steps before he straightened up and realized where he was. The alleyway Latias had brought them to led immediately into a small plaza. There were dozens of people milling about, all of their attention buzzing around a stand that stood in the center of it all.

"Leonardo's! I love their gelato. Me and Bianca used to go all the time!" Latias exclaimed, floating in behind Ash and parking her chin on his hat. He chuckled and turned to face her.

"Well, that sounds awesome! Let's—" Yet, when he did, he found naught but the empty alley to greet him. For a moment he considered the possibility that Latias had ditched him, before he remembered. "Ah right, you can go invisible!"

"Yep, heh. I have to stay hidden after all. Why don't you two grab the ice cream!" There was a tone underlying Latias's words, one Ash couldn't parse despite his best attempts. Pikachu seemed to pick up on it too, as his ears twitched and turned. "We can, uh, have it, after you get it."

Confused with her sudden hesitancy, Ash snorted.

"Why don't you just turn back into Bianca again? That should work!" he suggested, throwing in an Ash Ketchum™ grin to sweeten the deal. Despite that, Latias remained silent, at best an apprehensive mumble leaking through. Guess it was time for drastic measures. "Please?"

With that word, Ash took a step and offered a hand forward, his confident grin giving away now to a kind smile. No one had resisted this move before, and they wouldn't today.

After a moment, Latias's invisibility sputtered away. A small, but growing smile was on her face, and her hands fiddled with each other nervously.

"O-okay, let's do it!" Closing her eyes, Latias began to transform right there and then, the red of her body folding with the bending light, until it all melted into shimmers. Then, with a flash, the lights were gone, and a human girl remained. The face Ash saw the night before in the police station greeted his gaze. "I think, I'm ready."

"Kapika!"

"Hell yeah, Latias!" Taking a hold of Latias's hand, Ash stepped boldly into the plaza square.

𝒵

"Soap for the kitchen, some tomatoes for dinner tonight, check to see if they have my papers in." Bianca hemmed and hawed over the list in her hand, the bustling city streets barely a thought in her mind as she trekked onwards. She didn't even need to look up to check which road she was on— All she needed was to keep count of her steps. She had a turn coming up in about a hundred or so. "Ah, right, I need to get more chocolate for La—"

Bianca paused, her attention pulled from her list by a flash of something at the corner of her eye. She wasn't paying the city any mind, yet, she still saw that— Her reflection, walking around without her.

"Latias?" She whispered the name under her breath as she pressed forward, past the moving people and towards the crossing street. There, up ahead of her, she saw... herself. Or really, a copy of herself. She was walking out, plain as day, seemingly joined at the hip with a boy that Bianca was getting to recognize all too well. "Ash, how—?"

Bianca came to a stop at a street lamp and paused, her hand hanging on the metal as she watched the two go by. They were talking about something, the topic she couldn't parse, but seemingly humorous enough to make Latias break into snorting, infectious laughter. Ash and Pikachu were soon joining her as the trio came to a pause.

When they did, Bianca realized they were holding something: Paper cups, half filled with ice cream. She could even spot the logo on the side. It said Leonardo's.

The sight made Bianca stop. Her chest felt heavy.

"Ash... How did you do it?"

𝒳

After their fine breakfast of ice cream, Ash and Latias turned their attention to the next item in their very well defined itinerary: Wandering the city aimlessly. Between all the places Latias wanted to show Ash, and all the catching up they had to do, it only made sense to take it all one step at a time.

After a stop at one of the city's many, many cafes, it was time for Latias to pop a question.

"So, so, so! I have to ask— Why aren't you here with your friends?"

It surprised Ash, nearly making him choke on his drink mid-sip. He hadn't mentioned anything about Serena and the others, had he? Quickly, however, he realized she meant his other friends.

"I think they were caaaaalled, Dewey and Jacque?" Taking a light step past Ash, Latias turned, an inquisitive look to her eyes and a finger to her cheek.

"You mean Misty and Brock, heh." He laughed as he wiped a spot of beverage from his lips. "We all went our separate ways a loooong time ago. Misty left to become the greatest Water-Type trainer ever, and Brock's learning to become an amazing Pokémon Doctor!"

"Pikachu-pi! Pika-chu, pika!" Pikachu stood up on Ash's shoulder and added his own reminiscing to the mix. It left Ash with a laugh and a wistful sigh, before he looked back to Latias once more.

"Hmmm, so the best Water-type trainer ever, and a great Pokémon Doctor! I guess that just leaves one question." Latias grinned and turned, until she was facing Ash and walking backwards. "Where does that leave you?"

"Heh, same place as I've always been! I'm aiming to become a Pokémon Master!" He laid his declaration out with a full chest and a hearty laugh, letting Pikachu echo his sentiment a half-step later. Making a fist, Ash focused on Latias once more. "You can count on it!"

Despite his and Pikachu's overwhelming energy, Latias didn't seem to get as fired up as he had hoped. She instead smiled and chirped out a response.

"That sounds really interesting! What does it mean?"

"Oh, huh. Uhhh..." With the wind fully taken from his sails, Ash came to a pause. This was a new one. "Oh man, I've never given you the spiel, have I?"

"Noooope."

"Well, it's like this! I wanna, uh. I wanna! Hmmm." Rubbing his chin, Ash began to put his thoughts together. How could he word this? His mind was filled with so many emotions and thoughts on the subject, and he lacked a way to describe it all. He almost wanted to break out the onomatopeias for this.

"Pikapi, chupi, Kapika, pi!" Pikachu, however, had his own thoughts on the matter.

"Show her? What do ya mean, bud—" Pausing, Ash felt a wicked grin cross his lips, as Pikachu's meaning clicked in his mind. "That's a great idea! Latias, follow me!"

"Oh? Where are we— OkayIguesswe'reoff!" With a snap, Ash grabbed onto her hand once more, towing her along as he went into a full sprint. The city quickly became a blur at their sides, twisting streets and canal walkways melting into a route Ash confidently forged. Latias laughed at his sheer sudden energy, before calling out. "Do you even know where you're going!"

"Nope! Don't gotta! I'm not looking for anywhere specific, I just need somewhere— Perfect!" Ash came to a sudden stop, catching Latias as she shot past him and pulling her back. They had arrived.

The quiet, residential district the two had been perusing was gone, replaced now with a wide, open-air plaza. The air had shifted from the more urban atmosphere of city life, to the fresh, salty wind of the sea breeze. The ocean hugged the horizon with Alto Mare proper standing behind them.

"W-what are we doing here?" That wasn't all that changed. Latias's tone took a turn as well. She approached Ash, her hand latching onto his shoulder as her gaze darted back and forth. There were dozens of people all around them, milling about and glancing towards them on occasion.

"What's it look like? We're showing you what our dream is about!" Ash's gaze shot across the crowd, searching along with Pikachu for the perfect thing to make their point. Soon though, he couldn't help but turn and look back at Latias. "We're gonna find a battle!"

𝒵

"You seem nervous."

It had taken Ash and Pikachu quite a while to find a challenger in the crowd of the plaza. With all the tourists milling about, there were few trainers with both the willingness and time to give the two the battle they were itching for. In the end though, such a trainer had materialized— A gruff, rowdy-looking gentleman, with a shaved head and dumb smirk.

"I don't know, what you mean." Latias had a terrible poker face when she was nervous. She knew that well. Thankfully for her, Ash had a worst eye for liars. "I guess I am a bit worried you're about to get your butt kicked."

The comment fell out of her mouth all at once, more a half-baked joke than a sincere jab. In either case, it made Ash laugh and turn back to look at her. His gaze brought her to pause.

For the very first time, she didn't feel the need to check the crowds.

"When it comes to this, you never have to worry about me. Just watch and learn!" With that fiery call, Ash faced his opponent once more, leaving Latias the honor of watching him and Pikachu at work. Ash's trusty partner offered a few words of suggestion, before Ash nodded and made his move. "Alright then, I choose you, Froakie!"

A flash of light and a similarly passionate cry filled the battlefield, as Froakie arrived on the scene. In an instant he leapt to center stage, standing tall just like his trainer behind him.

"Ooooh." It was uncanny actually. To Latias, the energy coming off Froakie felt exactly like Ash's.

"Froooooakie!"

"Heh, fancy pants over here thinks he's so tough cause he gots Pokémon from outta town, aye? Well lemme show you what some real Johto muscle can do!" Their opponent meanwhile was unimpressed. With a clumsy stomp and a flexed bicep, he sent out his Pokémon, a behemoth of a Rhydon that landed onto the plaza with a booming thud. They and their trainer let out a thundering laugh in unison before the man continued. "Let's see what your little froggy can do, hotshot!"

"Rhyyyydon!"

"Oh we'll show you!" Ash threw his arm back as Froakie did the same. He didn't even need to call out the first move it seemed. Froakie already knew where he was going! "Move!"

Shooting forward, Froakie became a blur, flying with a fist already charging up blue energy. He zigged and zagged across the battlefield, sending the Rhydon's head spinning whilst their trainer was playing catch up.

"Stomp that pipsqueak! Can't hit us if